Lions are brown, and Pandas are black and white. Tigers are orange with black stripes. Elephants are gray. That’s how we picture these animals. Very rarely do we have the opportunity to see a while lion, or brown & white panda, but when we do, we are in awe. Such specimens are extremely rare. Color mutations are unusual in the animal kingdom, and they can completely alter the appearance of an animal (sometimes, specimens go on to form a whole new subspecies). Let’s take a look at the most fascinating color mutations in animals.

1. Melanistic Zebras

Zebras are horse-like creatures with black and white stripes. On extremely rare occasions, zebras with melanism are born. Sadly, such specimens do not last very long in the wild. Melanistic Zebras have an unusually black back, due to pronounced black stripes. This means that melanistic zebras are significantly darker than their relatives. Then again, every zebra is different (there are no zebras with the same stripes).

2. Gold-Striped Zebra

Since we are on the subject of zebras, let’s take a look at another fascinating specimen: the gold-striped zebra. While too much melanin makes zebras look like black lumps, too little melanin will turn the black stripes into golden ones. The most popular gold-striped zebra is Zoe, The Hawaiian Zebra(her stripes are bright orange). Besides her golden stripes, she also has white eyelashes and blue eyes. She suffers from the loss of tyrosinase.

3. White Elephants

Although they are called “white elephants”, elephants suffering from albinism aren’t actually white. Their color is more like a pink or reddish-brown. Despite the fact that albinism is a rare mutation, it is more common with Asian and African Elephants. Inhabitants of Burma (also known as Myanmar) & Thailand consider that white elephants are sacred, and should not be exploited for labor. They also believed that seeing a white elephant means that the ruler of the country reigns with justice, and is blessed.

Another interesting thing about white elephants, is the origin of the name. the idiom refers to things with little real value despite their supposed one. According to a story, the kings of Siam would give white elephants to the subjects they wanted to punish (because the elephant couldn’t be used for labor, it was useless).

4. Albino Eastern Gray Kangaroo

The Eastern Gray Kangaroo is unimaginably white. It looks exactly like a snowflake with red ears and a pink nose. Eastern gray kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) are the largest species of kangaroo (they can reach 210 cm in height). They can also leap more than 8 meters in one jump, and run at 56 km/hour.

Albino kangaroos are extremely rare in the wild. In spite of this fact, one was spotted in the wild by Rohan Thomson, from The Canberra Times, in November, last year. Like most albino animals, white kangaroos also have extremely slim chances of surviving in the wild (they are also susceptible to skin cancer and have bad hearing).

5. White Deer

The Seneca white deer have fascinated scientists for many years. In 2000, an army depot in Seneca county closed. During this time several white-coated deer got trapped within the walls. At the moment they represent the largest population of mutant creatures inhabiting a single area.

While they do not form a distinct species, the White deer of Seneca represent a subspecies of the brown-coated white tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). These animals are leucistic (which means that they have no pigment in the hair, but their eyes are brown). A more extreme mutation (albinism) would leave the deer’s eyes pink.

These are the most fascinating color mutations in animals that we have found. Obviously, almost every species of animals has a case of albinism or melatonism. You can check out more albino animals here.

Albinism is not something that only affects human beings and while we may not see beauty in this genetic abnormality that causes our skin to not be able to produce melanin (the pigment responsible for our different skin tones), several photographers have managed to capture breathtaking pictures of animals suffering from the same condition. These pictures display such delicate magnificence that many of us have found the creatures that were captured exquisitely beautiful and one of a kind. Here are fifteen of the world’s rarest albino specimens:

15. Albino Peacock

Peacocks use their plume as a way to attract mates, and the richer and more beautifully colored feathers they display, the higher their chances of finding a better mate are. This peacock is so much more beautiful because of its lack of colors.

14. Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Native to North America, this hummingbird made such a splash in the media when it was photographed in a garden. Normally, albinos are sought after by predators but in this case, the hummingbird may be way too fast for those trying to catch it. Instead it made this awe-inspiring picture possible.

13. Smily-face Bat

This sweet, sweet baby bat looks as if he were smiling in the picture. Cuteness overload.

12. Bengal Albino Tiger

Living across India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, the Bengal tiger has been classified as endangered as of 2010 and is one of the most beautiful wild animals that man can witness. And this albino representative is that much more special, in spite of the fact that it would have an extremely difficult time in the wild.

11. White Crow

We’re all familiar with crows being the omen of death, the black birds flying around and over homes were people are on the brink of death, so it is quite uncommon to come across an albino crow that is 100% percent white.

10. Zebra

Zebras are meant to be black and white, so when they lack the melanin for the black stripes, albino zebras have light brown stripes instead. The clear blue eyes are also a welcome bonus to this already unique animal.

9. Humpback Whale

Ranging in length from 12 to 16 meters and weighing approximately 36 thousand kilograms, humpback whales are acrobatic animals, breaching and slapping the water, are easily recognized due to their black dorsal coloring. This whale would be more difficult for whale watchers to identify due to it being completely white.

8. Rattlesnake

This picture is beyond description. Such beauty, and this in the case of one of the most dangerous reptiles on the face of the planet.

7. Squirrel

Imagine you’re walking through the forest and suddenly, you look at a tree where a completely white squirrel is jumping from tree to tree- quite unlikely, granted, since they would be easy targets for any predators trying to savor a dinner, but this squirrel is absolutely breathtaking.

6. Eagle

This guy would encounter serious issues when trying to fly over its prey.

5. Hedgehog

The internet is full of hedgehog pictures and gifs of them falling asleep, simply falling or playing around the house, but how much sweeter is this all-white hedgehog?

4. Iguana

Another albino reptile that made our list is this spine-tingling iguana that has the posture of a proud eagle and the conviction of a mother lion about to go hunting.

3. Ladybug

The conventional black dotted red ladybugs are put to shame by this magnificent picture of an albino ladybug.

2. Alligator

Steve Irwin would have been so proud to have seen such a marvelous alligator standing in front of him.

The animal kingdom is mysterious and exciting. Most of the times it is beautiful, but sometimes it is downright ugly. While we may be tempted to pet the wildest of tigers simply because they are so majestic and mesmerizing, there are animals in this world which have taken several beatings from the ugly stick. I think you will all agree that the 10 ugliest animals in this list are the most disgustings things that you have ever laid your eyes upon.

8. The Naked Mole Rat

If you are into wrinkled, naked animals, you should definitely think of adopting a naked mole rat). These creatures don’t only look freaky, they also act freaky. Nature has definitely not been generous with them, because besides the fact that they are naked, they also have poor vision and an inability to feel pain. This creature has actually been featured by Hollywood, under the form of Rufus, a pink (in a good way) naked mole rat that can chew through metal, do martial arts and fix appliances.

7. The Sphynx Cat

Since we are on the topic of wrinkled animals, here’s another ugly fellow: the Sphynx cat. I know that there are some who actually love them, but who would ever want to wake up in the middle of the night with such an ugly cat starring at them? It is actually suspected that Yoda from Star Wars was inspired from their peculiar appearance, since the wedge-shaped head, large years and heavyset bodies are so similar.

6. Monkfish

Monkfish are so ugly that they are often confused with the legendary sea monster called the Sea Monk. Irrespective of their looks, they are considered a delicacy by fish lovers.

5. The Goblin Shark

The first time I saw one of these hideous creatures I thought it must be photoshopped. There’s no way in hell that something as ugly as this could exist. I was wrong. The Goblin Shark is without a shadow of a doubt a creature of nightmares. Like other contenders on our lists, it is also pink. Of course, not that marshmallow pink that we all like, but rather that feverish, rash-like pink which comes from lack of pigment. Besides being ugly, it also has some ugly feeding habits. When they come in contact with pray they create a comparative vacuum in their expanded mouths and suck fish into it. Escape is near-impossible and resistance futile.

4. The California Condor

Rare doesn’t always mean something wildlife observers would like to see. The California Condor is one of the words most endangered flying land birds of the American West Coast. From a distance you can almost say that it’s beautiful, but up close it’s not the prettiest sight. Its bald head and blotted neck with, you guessed it, pink skin, give a whole new meaning to the world ugly.

3. The Star-Nosed Mole

Number two on our ugliest animals list is this “pretty” fellow. The Star-Nosed Mole is positively grotesque. Like the Goblin shark, it’s something you would expect to see in a cheap alien invasion movie. Its ugly buck made from bizarre, fleshy, star-shaped nasal tentacles is absolutely alarming. The only good news is the fact that it’s only the size of a monster. On the other hand, it was recognized as the fastest eater in the world (it can consume a tasty morsel in less than 120 milliseconds).

2. The Blobfish

We might have featured this in previous posts, but it’s just too ugly not to mention. As a matter of fact the Blobfish looks more like a mass of slime than a fish. Nevertheless, its appearance is actually an ingenious adaptation to the pressures of the ocean, where it can stay bouyant easily.

1. The Tongue-Eating Louse

This disgusting creature might remind you of the one in Alien vs. Predator, mainly because the movie was actually inspired by it. Behold the tongue of the parasite from hell. If you wish to never encounter the “Organ Replacer” make sure you stay as far away from the Gulf of California as possible. But why exactly does it have such an “odd” looking mouth? What it basically does is inserts itself in the mouth of a fish and sucks out all the blood until it atrophies an dies. In the end, the tongue of the fish will be replaced by the parasite which will live on the rest of its life feeding on its muscles, blood and mucus.

So that was our top 8 ugliest animals on the face of the Earth. What do you think?